1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to an automatic test apparatus for embedded software and an automatic testing method thereof, and more particularly to an apparatus and method to automate an operation test for embedded software installed in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With emergence of a television (TV), a mobile phone, or the like various electronic devices such as digital devices, embedded software installed in such devices have become vast and various. A variety of devices provides various execution environments for the embedded software installed in the respective devices, and may cause errors. Thus, the embedded software may be previously tested in consideration of errors that may arise in executing the embedded software.
Under a host environment before porting to a target environment corresponding to a real environment, the embedded software is tested in accordance with various user scenarios based on many cases. The scenarios unfolded under the host environment may be reproduced under the target environment.
Since the embedded software may be ported to and operate in the target environment having various hardware characteristics and software environments and operates, embedded software may experience detailed and deep tests with regard to various scenarios before its development is completed. As such test methods, there is a conventional test method using a commercialized automated test tool for unidirectional transmission of command to the embedded software.
A plurality of electronic devices such as digital devices, loaded with the embedded software independently executes each embedded software while transmitting and receiving data through an communication interface. The respective embedded software may be different in characteristic from each other (e.g., different operating system (OS)), and therefore a problem may be caused by not only one embedded software but also interaction between a plurality of embedded software. In the latter case, difference in time of executing the respective embedded software, effects of the embedded software on the interface, etc. may cause various unexpected problems.
Accordingly, a conventional test based on unidirectional command transmission for single embedded software is difficult for reproduction about various problems that may occur in the interaction between the plurality of embedded software different in characteristic from each other, interface operations to transmit and receive data, and so on. Also, the conventional test is not flexible to various interface scenarios that may occur under conditions of end users, and thus costs much to secure the scenarios corresponding to various cases. Therefore, time and manpower are wasted, and an accurate test is difficult.